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Canonical releases Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2

The Ubuntu developers have announced the availability of the second alpha release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, code named "Lucid Lynx". The latest development milestone is the second of three planned alpha releases, which will be followed by two beta releases and then a release candidate.

Lucid Lynx Alpha 2 is based on the 2.6.32 Linux kernel and features a number of changes over the previous 9.10 release. While naturally many packages will see updates, Ubuntu 10.04 will also see some removals. Ubuntu will no longer bundle GIMP, the popular image editor (although it is still present in this alpha) and the deprecated HAL package has now been completely removed from this second alpha. HAL's removal provides an improvement in the boot and resume from suspend times. The developers also note that three different NVIDIA proprietary drivers are available and, thanks to a new alternatives system, they can all be installed at the same time.

The Kubuntu release features the first release candidate (RC1) for version 4.4 of the KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC), code-named "Cornelius". As with all development releases, use in production environments and on mission critical systems is not advised. Users testing the release are encouraged to report any bugs that they find.

Ubuntu 10.04 will be a Long Term Support (LTS) release. The LTS versions of Ubuntu are supported for three years for the desktop releases and five years for server releases. The standard releases are supported for 18 months of updates for both the desktop and server versions.

More details about the release can be found in the release notes. As usual the various desktop/laptop, server edition and Kubuntu and netbook remix versions of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Alpha 2 are available to download from ubuntu.com. Users currently running Ubuntu 9.10 on a desktop system can upgrade by pressing Alt+F2 and typing "update-manager -d" (without the quotes) into the command box. Lucid Lynx is expected to be released on the 29th of April of 2010. The latest stable release of Ubuntu is version 9.10, code named "Karmic Koala", initially released in October 2009.